Autonomous robotic security guards are almost a reality

You might not see quite so many security guards on the beat in the future. After roughly a year of work, Knightscope is almost ready to deploy the K5, a human-sized autonomous robot that’s designed to take care of the more mundane parts of security patrols. The machine only needs a bit of initial instruction to get a feel for its surroundings. After that, it keeps watch on its own using a mix of four cameras, microphones, radar and environmental sensors that can detect fires and gas leaks. The K5 uses either cellular data or WiFi to both share its findings and let its overseers speak, and it’ll set off an alarm if you try to immobilize it.